HomeOutdoorsEnvironmentImagine there’s no plastic

Imagine there’s no plastic

Coast Lines logo - borderWhen Capt. Bill Brooker takes the Chomsky out on Sarasota Bay for a lesson or a charter, he watches the clouds for rain. He watches the sails for wind. And he watches the water for trash, particularly plastic trash.

It may take an extra tack or two, but going after plastic bottles, straws and other flotsam and jetsam is all part of being a good sailor, according to the sailing instructor and former psychologist, who sails out of Sara-Bay Sailing School and Charter, 4134 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s3K6VKOuPc[/embedyt]

Brooker is joining the American Sailing Association (ASA) in launching “Operation Plastic Pollution Purge” to encourage boaters to clean up trash from waterways.

The public service campaign aims to raise awareness of plastic pollution to encourage people to recycle and properly dispose of plastic.

All summer, the association is asking boaters to bring a trash bag onboard and pick up any garbage they see, whether it’s on the water’s edge or in the water.

Sail
A cormorant perches on a channel marker in Sarasota Bay. Birds can become fatally entangled in plastic fishing line. – Cindy Lane | Sun

Boaters can post photos of themselves and their crews picking up trash on the ASA Facebook page.

“Plastic pollution is not an ocean, river, lake or stream problem, it’s a people problem,” said Lenny Shabes, CEO and founder of the ASA, the world’s largest sailing organization and America’s sail education authority.

“We must do our part to discourage everyone from trashing our waterways with plastic bottles, bags, cups, utensils and plates,” he said. “If we all do our part, we can make a difference by raising awareness to help stop this tidal wave of plastic threatening all of us.”

Plastic fishing line is one of the biggest sources of plastic pollution and wildlife entanglement and strangulation, Brooker said, despite recycling stations stationed at several area piers and boat ramps.

Monofilament fishing line can stay in the water for 600 years, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which suggests that anglers can make their own onboard fishing line storage bins by cutting an “X” in the lid of a tennis ball container or coffee can to keep it from blowing overboard.

But most plastic trash in the water comes from land, not boats, Brooker said, such as plastic bags that people take to the breezy beach, and which sea turtles mistake for yummy jellyfish.

According to a University of Georgia study, 18 billion pounds of plastic waste blows into the ocean each year, the equivalent of five grocery bags of plastic trash sitting on every foot of coastline around the world, according to the ASA.

– Cindy Lane | Sun

It’s one of several reasons for the campaign, including these:

  • The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, one of five plastic islands worldwide, has grown to twice the size of Texas.
  • One million seabirds die annually from getting tangled in and/or eating plastic.
  • One hundred marine mammals die annually from getting tangled in and/or eating plastic.
  • S. residents use almost one plastic bag each, every day, compared to Denmark residents who each use an average of four plastic bags a year.
  • Americans each throw out an average of 10 plastic bags every week.
  • The plastic problem is growing at such a rapid pace it’s the equivalent of dumping one New York City garbage truck full of plastic into the ocean every minute of every day.

For more information, visit ASA.

Visit Capt. Brooker or call him at 941-914-5132.

And please take the time to pick up plastic trash.

Most Popular

More from Author

Surf shop celebrates 60

HOLMES BEACH – Jim Brady’s West Coast Surf Shop is in...

Cortez founded on mullet

CORTEZ – A visit by Dr. Angela Collins to the Cortez...

Underwater Anna Maria Island gallery

Hold your breath and take a tour of the limestone reefs...

Floridian Mortgage wins championship

ANNA MARIA – Spring has sprung and winter sports at The Center are coming to a close, with team Floridian Mortgage earning the win against team Moss Builders Thursday night in the adult co-ed flag football championship game. The top two teams in the league matched up in...

Man completes Chamber passport program in five hours

ANNA MARIA ISLAND - The annual Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Passport Program is a fun way for residents and visitors to the Island to get out and discover Island businesses with a passport offered for free by the chamber. Participants are encouraged to get their passports...

One ARK Foundation raises funds for foster families

live music, delicious food and spirited fundraising as the One ARK Foundation held its second annual “Kindness Matters Extravaganza” at The Cheesecake Cutie & Cafe on March 21. “One ARK” stands for “one act of random kindness” and is a newly-established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by The Cheesecake...

Save our homes

This column should be titled “Save our Taxes,” since that’s what we’re really talking about. However, saving on property taxes is part of the Save Our Homes benefits and portability transfers are another piece of this law. In January of 2008, the Florida Legislature passed legislation that allows...

 Reel Time: Salon fundraiser meets with success

Salon (noun) - a conversational gathering of notables held at the home of a prominent person. On Saturday afternoon, Suncoast Waterkeeper held its Suncoast Salon fundraiser at the Sarasota home of Anna Maria residents Bill and Debbie Partridge. The event was a sellout and attracted some of...

Temporary paid parking vendors hired

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners considered four temporary use parking permits at the March 21 commission meeting and after much discussion, approved three with stipulations, denying one. Permit applications were submitted by developer Shawn Kaleta for temporary parking lots at 102 Third St. N., 207 Church Ave. and...

Fire department sued over rental regulations

BRADENTON – Almost a year after passing a resolution changing the district’s approach to taxing and inspecting vacation rental properties in residential areas, West Manatee Fire Rescue is receiving pushback from one rental owner. During a March 19 commission meeting, the district’s attorney, Maggie Mooney, informed the board...

Bridge Street traffic, parking among commission concerns

BRADENTON BEACH – In what was an unusually lengthy, seven-hour city commission meeting that began at noon on March 21, commissioners dove into parking and traffic issues, pickleball and organ donation. BRIDGE STREET ONE WAY? A Bridge Street business owner asked the commission to consider making Bridge Street one...

Scaccianoce new Bradenton Beach commissioner

BRADENTON BEACH – Ward 1 has a new commissioner. The application for commissioner by business owner and former Manatee County records manager Deborah Scaccianoce was approved by the commission and she was sworn in at its March 21 meeting. She filled the vacant seat left by former Commissioner Jake...

Kruse talks beach parking, Island consolidation

HOLMES BEACH – About two dozen people came out on March 20 to meet with Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse, bringing their questions for the candidate, who is seeking re-election in November. Kruse held a town hall meeting at the Island Branch Library where he answered every question...

Commissioners deny bids for paid parking

BRADENTON BEACH – Rather than partnering with an outside vendor as planned, commissioners are now considering city-managed paid parking lots throughout Bradenton Beach. The city had put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) on Feb. 9 to “Provide the City with a complete parking management and enforcement system...